Topic: Women's Directors and Women Directors

Throughout film history some directors--most of them male-- have been
identified as "women's directors," directors who work well with actresses
("get strong performances out of them") and make films that have
traditionally had a strong appeal for women viewers. In this class, we'll
take a look at the work of some of these directors and compare it to the
work of women directors (some of them "women's directors," some of them
not) from the same period/s.  What I hope to explore is the degree to
which women directors really do treat different themes (or treat themes
differently) than their male counterparts and to problematize some of the
gender assumptions traditionally made about the kind of films women and
men make--and like to watch.
Screenings will include films by Woody Allen, Dorothy Arzner, Ingmar
Bergman, Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, Joyce Chopra, George Cukor, Ida
Lupino, Joseph Mankiewicz, Carlos Saura, Susan Seidelman, and early silent
film directors.

Required reading:
B. Ruby Rich, Chick Flicks
Diane Carson, Linda Dittmar and Janice R. Welsch, eds.Multiple Voices
		in Feminist Film Criticism
Patricia Erens, ed. Issues in Feminist Film Criticism
		
xeroxed packet of readings

Written work: 2 papers, a midterm, and a final exam.